Killer Subdivision Exercise - with Scott Devine

Here's an awesome subdivision exercise for you. It was shown to me by an ex student of Charlie Haden's. When I started using this exercise within my practice time I found that it really helped me start to develop my internal pulse and time feel.

This is part 1... part 2 will be coming soon... so keep a look out for it!

I use this basic approach but I extend it on both ends. In your video, you do 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 6:1. I also do 8:1 on the fast end and 1:2 (half notes) on the slow end. And just for fun, I do some basic poly-rhythms such as 3:2 (triples over two beats).

I also use this with other exercises, so I'm getting subdivision practice and reinforcing something else at the same time. I add variety of subdividing to another useful (but perhaps tedious) exercise like scales, arpeggios, pentatonic scalse, modes, etc. So if you started with a major scale, you might do it first with second finger on the root (like in your video). Then do it again with first finger on the root, and then again with 4th finger on the root. Then switch to a natural minor scale, etc.

I find that combining this timing exercise with another exercise has the benefit of keeping my mind engaged continuously, rather than zoning out. I try to always stay mindful, even when doing exercises that I clearly need to work on, but can become mind-numbingly dull if done the same way over and over and over and over...

Great lesson and exercise. I just saw another video where the instructor was emphesizing the improtance of timing and groove. An acquaintance at the open mics where I play's father was a professional musician. Whenever someone asked him for advice for children who wanted to learn music, no matter what instrument, his adice was, "Give him/her six months of drum lessons."

As usual, great lesson and thank you. I know you wear a glove on your left hand because of Focal Dystonia but with the lighting you used for this video your left hand doesn't look like you're wearing a glove, it looks like your left hand is B&W. Like some video special effect. Looks kinda cool. Anyway, thanks again for your video lesson.

However, filling every beat with subdivisions of 5 and beyond probably not the most practical aspect to understanding subdivisions.
While I do think subdividing the beat as your exercise teaches is certainly an important fundamental skill (at least up to triplets),
for really developing a sense of "groove" it's important o acknowledge the spaces as well.
To that end, I place more importance on understanding each individual subdivision's place within the measure.
I usually think of subdivisions as isolated 8th and 16th notes against a steady back beat.

However, filling every beat with subdivisions of 5 and beyond probably not the most practical aspect to understanding subdivisions.
While I do think subdividing the beat as your exercise teaches is certainly an important fundamental skill (at least up to triplets),
for really developing a sense of "groove" it's important o acknowledge the spaces as well.
To that end, I place more importance on understanding each individual subdivision's place within the measure.
I usually think of subdivisions as isolated 8th and 16th notes against a steady back beat.

Yeah, Anthony's lesson is killer! I've actually 'almost' finished an entire course (over 6 hours of video!) discussing and expanding on this concept in great length... it'll be coming out early 2013!

The subdivision exercises I gave in the tutorial from this post is almost a downbeat awareness exercise so it's aiming at a different area than Anthony's is. So I wouldn't say either is better - just aiming at different things. I use the exercise I give to get people to break out of the subdivisions they've being almost pre-programmed to play... almost trying to get them to expand their internal time almost.

Playing the 5's is a killer example of this... If you take a listen to Hadrien Feraud you'll hear that he phrases in 5 a lot... not groupings of 5 like Jaco often did - I'm talking about actually playing 5 notes per quarter note. It's tough to spot sometimes - when they're up to speed they almost sound like lazy triplets. Great sound!